A new pilot program aims to help students from some of Australia's most remote communities stay in school when their families need to travel to city centres.
The 'Walk Along' initiative aims to help families from South Australia's APY Lands connect with schools in Adelaide when circumstances require them to move temporarily.
Going to school a long way from home can be daunting.
For students from the remote APY Lands in South Australia it can mean adjusting to different cultures as well as a new environment.
Wiltja boarding school student Suzhanna Bostock-Stuart is originally from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
She says her first day at school in Adelaide, several years ago, was disorientating.
"School was really hectic, confusing, because I wasn't really used to going to a big school. Um, lot of corridors, the classrooms that look alike, yeah it was a bit confusing."
Wiltja is a home away from home for young Aboriginal students from remote communities.
The school offers support for students like Suzhanna, and help finding educational pathways for the future.
But state government data suggests the number of school-aged children moving from central Australia to the city for short-term visits, is rising.
Vicki Wilson, the Manager of Aboriginal Services at the South Australian Department for Education and Child Development, explains.
"A fairly significant shift of families here in South Australia from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands, down here to Adelaide, metropolitan Adelaide, for a number of reasons. Reasons such as some government services that are no longer available, people come down for medical appointments, for health reasons, also come down to visit family who are already living down here."
Some children who have made the move with their families aren't continuing schooling while they're away from home.
Aboriginal education worker Sandra Pumani says those gaps in education are a cause for concern because today's youth will be her community's future leaders.
"I wonder about that and worry about that. It is really important, we have to keep all the kids in school, give them the good education for them to take over our communities in the future."
'Walk Along' is a new pilot program launched by the South Australian Department for Education and Child Development.
Vicki Wilson says its aim is to simplify the process of transferring schools temporarily - supporting families by guiding them through the often complex administrative procedures.
"So that families who are down here in Adelaide and even families back on community are comfortable about ringing us up and saying, 'Look we're thinking about moving, or we're on our way down. Can you support us with getting our children to school."
Ms Wilson says community consultation will be an important part of the program.
Karina Lester is the co-manager of the mobile language team at the University of Adelaide, and a Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman.
She says the initiative looks great on paper, but hopes the support will extend to family members and the social needs of children.
"It is a big picture, and I think the department needs to be mindful of that. It's about holistics, it's about not only the children's education but it's about their social and cultural and spiritual wellbeing, as well."
